1. Chapter 1

How long had it been? Just minutes? Hours? Days? How long would it take to kill me?

How long did I have till I died?

I remembered watching the many victims being carried out, their beds quickly replaced by new ones, quiet and dazed as if they would pass away in any second. I knew the worst for me had just started. When I collapsed after my parents had passed away, I knew it hit me.

I could still feel the heat of the sun as I chased after the black buggy that carried my dear family's bodies away. Everything had gone black, and when I opened my eyes, I was here, lying on my death bed.

How was it possible? How could everything I love slip away?

Apparently, this room was for those who had just gotten a hold of the ghastly flu. It hadn't really struck us yet, but we knew the worst were very soon to come. We all lay here in silence, a coughing fit giving some away, and they were carried out by the American Red Cross workers into a room, noisier and more chaotic I could tell, as I heard noise and panic leaking out when the door opened.

Didn't the wealthy get some type of medicine? Some secret cure? Why were my family treated like the rest, like we were just as good as the bodies slowly collecting in the corners and rooms of the town? We were quite wealthy in fact, and I weakly stroked my mother's ring that now lay on my finger with my thumb.

What would happen to it?

I heard footsteps, quiet murmurs and a soft thud, and suddenly I was aware of someone near me. The two beds on either side of me had been empty since I got here, but now one was occupied by a slender body- female, perhaps?

The people who had laid her down tucked covers over the person's chest, felt their temperature, and left.

That was when I thought I had surely died, because my heart stopped.

I had turned to my right to take a look at the person, a girl about my age, with brown, wavy hair spilling over her shoulders and on the soiled pillow. She had beautiful chocolate brown eyes that held more curiosity than I had ever seen. Usually I was good at reading people and guessing at what they were feeling and thinking, but she was a complete enigma. She was beautiful.

She met my gaze, and a soft smile graced her pale lips.

"Hello."

Her voice was soft, silky, and the way she greeted me surprised me. Had she not realized that we were lying on our deathbeds? Only the truly blessed probably survived, and I had heard few of those.

Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a second, and she shifted her body towards me to get a better look.

"Are you alright? Of course you're not, what am I thinking...would you like me to call a nurse?"

Suddenly, I realized I had not spoken. "Oh, no...I'm sorry."

The teasing smile came back to her lips and she seemed to be saying 'alright' with her expression.

"You were going to call a nurse for me?" I said, a bit bewildered. Didn't we all need nurses? She wasn't exactly perfectly fine, but the way she acted seemed as if she was in the most healthy shape of her life. With her beauty, I realized that the flu had not quite taken a good amount of her yet.

"Well, isn't that what we're all here for?" she said with a laugh, with more as a statement than a question. Her features grew more serious. "Well, that's what you're here for. I'm perfectly fine."

A laugh managed to escape my lips, and I could feel my lungs aching with the unwanted movement.

"The flu hasn't gotten to you as much yet."

She scowled a bit. "I fainted. So what."

I could feel myself smiling, though I couldn't believe it. Here was a girl, one who I didn't even know her name, and she was making me laugh and grin on my deathbed?

"What is your name?" I said with more eagerness than I intended to have.

"Bella. Bella Swan. And you?"

"Edward Masen."

A small look of realization hit her features, and she nodded gravely, lowering your eyes. "The politician's son. I heard your parents passed away today."

"Yes," I said curtly, not wanting to talk about it.

"I'm very sorry for your loss," she said politely, and I tried to hold in my shock.

It was as if she didn't realize her heartbeats were limited. She didn't realize that we were here for a reason, that we were infected with something that could kill us.

And suddenly, I was overcome with grief.

Why? Why was I more worried about her death than I was about mine? Who knew if I would last until tomorrow, and yet I was here wishing she was one of the blessed few who would survive. Was this one of the effects of the fever?

Delusion?

"Thank you," I said politely, my voice growing more and more hoarse by the minute as I continued to talk.

She gave me a small, pitying smile and turned her attention to a person nearby. I sensed he- or she- was standing by by side of the bed, and I watched her eyes grow wide with amazement.

I turned my attention to the figure, only to meet a face that deserved the attention of the King of England. He was breathtakingly handsome, which would explain the look on Bella's face. He wore a doctor's attire, and I wondered what a person like that would have to do with a place like this. With his looks, he must've been wealthy, well known, noble, something.

"Hello Mr. Masen," he greeted me, his pale face giving me a polite smile. I greeted him back with effort as I felt my body begin to tire.

"I'm Doctor Cullen. I see you've met Bella?" he questioned me with a coy smile, and I glanced at her to see her roll her eyes. Perhaps she was a noble one in her society, too? What had she or her family done to attract the attention of a doctor? In most workers' eyes, we were just another body, another victim anticipated to grow worse.

And then death would come.

"Yes," I admitted, and he quickly picked up on the curiosity in my voice.

"She put up quite a fight after we found her unconscious. She claims she's perfectly fine," he teased her, but I could hear the sadness in his voice. He couldn't say it. He wouldn't say it. He would tell her she was most certainly not healthy, but he didn't want to say that she would die.

Maybe he was as intrigued with her as I was?

I laughed a little bit, and decided to change the subject. "Are they working on on a cure, yet?"

I felt like I was asking for a cure for her, not for me. If there was only enough for one person, I realized that I wanted her to have it, not me. I liked her- a lot.

His demeanor grew serious. "They're working as hard as they can, but as it begins to spread, they believe it's...incurable."

An uneasy feeling grew in the pit of my stomach, and I swallowed with difficulty due to my swollen throat.

Incurable. We would not be making it out alive.

I nodded, accepting my fate with as much dignity as I could muster. What would I live for? My parents were gone, I hadn't a brother or sister, and any other family I knew of still lived in England, probably buried by now or lying in their bed, too.

"Are you sure? There's nothing?" Bella spoke up worriedly.

Suddenly, the doctor's face changed, as if he wanted to say something, but he was holding it back. "Try to make it through the night. I'll be back to check on you two in the morning," he said, ignoring Bella's question, and suspicion gnawed at me.

Was there something he wasn't telling us? Did we have a chance at life?

He walked away to the next couple of beds, and my eyes followed him before I could no longer see him without sitting up. I turned back to the lovely girl next to me, and I knew she would be my new friend until the end.

An end that would be coming too soon.

So why shouldn't I make the best of it? I should be getting to know her, getting to laugh and smile before the flu overcame me and I would barely be able to move...

She was staring thoughtfully at the ceiling, and I called her name. She shifted to face me slowly, and I knew she was getting weaker and weaker.

"Yes?"

And so our relationship began.

We had talked until the dirty windows grew darker and darker, indicating night was soon upon us. We confided in everything, as if we had known each other since we were born, and I had learned more about a person then I had about anyone else in my life.

Her favorite color was blue (like mine), she had a dog named Rosalie, and her parents owned a bistro down on the corner of Sunshine Road and Forks Boulevard. And as she talked animatedly, I couldn't help but feel sadness.

She would die. And I wouldn't be able to stop it.

It was crazy, how a person could gnaw their way straight into my heart, because as we learned more and more about each other, I felt as if she was mine, that she belonged to me and me only.

I began to fall in love with Bella Swan.

As night rose against us like an enemy, we began to whisper in hushed voices to prevent disturbing others. I had never felt so alive before, suppressing giggles and watching her heavenly eyes light up with joy as she found another thing we had in common. I felt as if she was the only thing other than great God Himself that was keeping me alive, keeping my beat to just hold on until the flu would fully take me.

Suddenly, we fell into a comfortable silence, looking at each other with smiles on our faces using the pale light of the moon.

"Have you ever fallen in love before?" she asked, her voice lovely and quiet enough to where no one would be disturbed. The whole room was in a deep, fitful sleep except for us.

"Yes." Just now.

A hint of something negative flashed in her eyes, before the familiar curiosity came back to ease away the pain she felt.

"Was she beautiful?"

"Yes, she is."

An eyebrow went up over her delicate features, and I decided it was time. It was time she knew how much I didn't want to lose her, how much I needed to die with her if she was to pass away.

"Is?"

"She calls herself Bella, and even though she's insane, she really is quite beautiful."

An oh-so-lovely blush crept across her cheeks. "Thank you."

I just smiled at her, and she smiled back. "Have you?" I asked, returning to the question.

"Yes, and you are quite handsome, Mr. Masen," she said playfully, laughing.

That's what I loved the most. In her terribly weak state, in her illness, she still found the strength to smile. She taught me to smile, when all I could think about was my misfortune and illness, and the time I had left before my eyes would close forever.

"Can I tell you a secret?" I said gingerly, my heart pounding in my chest. What was I thinking, getting so attached to her like this? What if she passed away before me? What if we were to be separated? What if...

"Anything," she said confidently. I took a deep breath.

"I feel like I've known you my whole life, and yet I just met you this morning, only hours ago. And if we were better, if we were to make it...I would marry you, Bella Swan. I would make you my entire life, even though I think you already are."

A brilliant smile graced her features, and a tear rolled out of an eye and down her lovely pale cheek. I wanted to spring up and go to her so badly, to brush the tear away and kiss her until she was no longer sick. I wanted to touch her, to ease her hurting and tell her it was all going to be okay.

Even though it just might not be.

"You wouldn't have to do that, Edward. I'm already yours."

Her voice came out sad, yet in a pleading way, as if she didn't want me to worry about anything because I already had her and there was nothing else to worry about trying to get.

"I'm going to miss that smile," I told her sadly, and she bit her bottom lip.

"Can I tell you a secret?" she whispered, her eyes wide, bitter sweetness shining in them.

"Anything."

"I don't think I want to fall asleep."

Confusion washed over me, and I let out an uneasy laugh.

"Because if I close my eyes, I'm afraid I won't wake up."

My heart tore in two. The dread I had felt when I heard that there was no cure washed over me, and I wanted to rip myself apart at that fact. Would we make it through the night? Would we wake up in the morning, or would we go down with a fight tonight?

"Don't say that."

"I'm sick, aren't I? I'm one of the affected...I can feel it now."

"I wouldn't let you."

She sighed, giving me a sad smile. "Oh Edward...my Edward. I should've never gotten myself attached to you. If I don't make it through the night, I would send myself straight to hell for the sorrow I would cause you."

"I wouldn't let you," I repeated as firmly as I could with a hoarse voice. "Don't stay up all night, or you'll make yourself worse."

Her eyes were wide with fear. "Are you ready to go to sleep?"

Indeed, I was. I would force myself to wake up. I would live another day, not cough myself into a fit and get myself removed from the room. I remembered earlier, how it was okay that I might not survive this dark time because there was nothing else to live for.

I was wrong. I had everything to live for.

I had to live for this girl, and she had to do the same.

"With you, my dear. Together. And it'll be easy for me, because I can't wait to wake up to see your beautiful, smiling face."

A genuine smile graced her features. "And I, too."

"Goodnight Mr. Masen."

"Goodnight Ms. Masen."

Her eyes widened at that one, but she gave me an agreeing smile. "Indeed."

I could feel the exhaustion taking us over, wrapping us up and eager to to carry us away. But tonight, I would cheat death. We would do it together.

And she closed her eyes to sleep.

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I could feel the sunlight falling over my eyelids, soft murmurs and footsteps as nurses and volunteers began to check beds for any who had vomited in the night- or worse. I knew it was time to open my eyes, but I was so scared.

I was afraid she wouldn't be there, that she had gotten moved, or that I would cause her to greet me and it would arouse a coughing fit. Yet, how would I ever know? I had to see her, to make sure she was still with me.

And I opened my eyes to her beautiful face.

She was still sleeping, sunlight illuminating her stunning face, as her chest moved up and down weakly. She had dark circles under her eyes, and her cheeks looked more sunken in. It was getting a hold of her...

I held my breath as her eyes fluttered open, darting around the room to gather information suspiciously. She was alive. My love, my Bella, my everything was alive!

Her eyes fixed on me, and realization flooded through her. A smile spread over her face, and we stared at each other, dumbstruck and lovesick all at the same time.

"You made it, see?" I said, as if it was the most obvious thing, something that should've happened or else it would've gone against nature.

She laughed, and it was cut off as fast as it came. Confusion, fearful confusion washed over her features, as her chest lurched a bit. She looked at me strangely, her eyes asking me what was going on.

Then, she threw up blood.

My heart stopped, and my stomach began to churn. "Bella?" I cried hoarsely, and the doctor, Cullen I think, rushed over.

I began to call to her, but she spluttered up more blood, her body heaving. My world began to whirl, and I vomited on the floor.

"Get these two to room B! Room B!" I heard a voice shout.

"Room B? I thought the second-stage people went to the next room!"

"I want these two in room B!" the voice thundered, and I could feel my bed whizzing across the floor.

"Edward..."

That voice sounded familiar. Too familiar. I knew that voice- I loved that voice. So much...so, so much...

"Bella?" I tried to call as loud as I could, but a voice told me to "Shh."

I couldn't quite agree. That was my life in the next bed, my wife, my everything, the last thing I lived for. I had known her my entire life, only it was just a day that we had finally a chance to meet.

Did that even make sense?

I could feel myself whizzing by, and it made me quite queasy. I threw up something else, and my body screamed in relief. I heard another sound similar. Was Bella...dying? Like me?

Was this it?

More voices. I wanted them to stop so badly. I needed them to stop, they were too damn loud.

"Edward..." a faint voice called to me. "There is a way I can save you, but I don't think I have time to explain...It was your mother's wish..." I recognized the voice as the doctor, the one who looked surprisingly handsome, the one who told me there was no cure... My mother? What did my mother have to do with this, though?

"Give it to her," I croaked, hoping and praying he could hear my incoherent voice somehow. "You must...save her."

There was a pain so violent, I couldn't breathe. My stomach lurched, and suddenly I was covered in vomit. My heart was racing ahead, and adrenaline was beginning to clear my head a little bit.

"BELLA!" I screeched, and I heard a familiar voice call my name.

"DO IT! SAVE HER! DO IT!" I screamed. He must understand! It wasn't about me, it was all about her. She must live if there was a cure...

"Are you sure? This is eternal damnation...you'd never be able to sleep, never die, never have a heart beat..."

What was this? Some supernatural force? The devil's work? The adrenaline was too much for me. I didn't have time to press on, to see if he was even serious.

"JUST DO IT!" I yelled, the pain eating me alive. This was it. This was how it all ended, and I couldn't even see the face of that beautiful creature I had just met.

I felt a faint pain in my arm, like a bite, but it was nothing compared to my stomach that was threatening to tear out of me.

And then everything got quieter, duller, more simple...

"It's alright now...I've saved her..."

"Meet me in heaven, Edward," I heard her call to me. Never. I would never. We would live, we had to live.

It was impossible not to. Life wouldn't make sense. The world would explode if we didn't, because we belonged together like air belonged to the lungs. I never even got the chance to touch her, to feel her, to make her mine completely...

My eyes began to close, as my heart began to restart, and I grew warmer.

Warmer.

Warmer.

Hot.

Too hot.

What was this? Was Doctor Cullen a fan of the devil's magic? It was too hot...this wasn't being saved. This wasn't what I asked for...

Meet me in heaven...I remembered my love saying. Was I on my way to hell?

'Goodnight Mr. Masen,'

I remembered that from somewhere. I couldn't place my finger on it, due to the fire erupted in my chest.